More than 80 University of Alabama Student-Athletes Slated for Graduation during Commencement Weekend

More than 80 University of Alabama student-athletes are slated to receive their degrees during the upcoming commencement weekend. That total includes four NCAA champions and more than 20 All-Americans.

“At The University of Alabama, our primary mission is for our student-athletes to make the most of their collegiate careers, both in their academic and athletic endeavors, and to have them graduate prepared to compete at the highest level in the next chapters of their lives,” UA Director of Athletics Greg Byrne said. “We are very proud and pleased to have such a large and accomplished group of graduates this spring who are ready to do just that.”

Former Alabama football player and Director of Athletics Bill Battle will also be recognized during Saturday’s 6 p.m. ceremony in Coleman Coliseum with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the College of Human Environmental Sciences. Battle played football for Paul Bryant in the early 1960s and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the Capstone in 1963 followed by a master’s degree in education from Oklahoma in 1964. In addition to his tenure as an Alabama student-athlete, Battle served as the Crimson Tide’s AD from 2013-17.

“I am humbled by this truly amazing honor,” Battle said. “To be recognized in this manner is tremendous and I am beyond proud to stand among so many of our student-athletes who are receiving their degrees this weekend.”

Oslin is also one of four May graduates to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors during their Crimson Tide careers, joining Alex Gholston (women’s track and field), Anton McKee (men’s swimming and diving) and Krystal Rivers (volleyball).

McKee was recently named the Southeastern Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was the 2016 CoSIDA At-Large Team Academic All-American of the Year. Oslin, Rivers and Danielle Spielmann (women’s tennis) were also named SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for their respective sports.

In addition to being the SEC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Rivers was also named the SEC Player of the Year this past season, making her the first in league history to be named volleyball’s player and scholar-athlete of the year in the same season.

There are nine members of the Crimson Tide’s most recent College Football Playoff and SEC champion football teams among the May graduates, including starters Brown, Bradley Bozeman and Shaun Dion Hamilton, as well as four members of the men’s basketball team, including Collins and team captain Jimmie Taylor.

There will be a commencement ceremony on Friday at 4:30 p.m. as well as three on Saturday at 9 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. The ceremonies will be broadcast live at www.ua.edu/commencement and will be archived on the same page for 30 days following the ceremony.